Dixon eyeing BSB with RAF Reserves BMW test

Jake Dixon splits from Tsingtao MV Agusta in British Supersport and will test a RAF Reserves BMW S1000RR at Snetterton this week.

Jake Dixon has set his sights on making an earlier-than-planned move into the British Superbike Championship this year after being granted a test with the RAF Reserves BMW team at Snetterton.

The 20 year-old had been competing in the British Supersport class with Tsingtao MV Agusta - where he was seventh in the standings -, but has split with the team ahead of round four in pursuit of other opportunities.

This could come courtesy of RAF Reserves BMW, which has invited Dixon to test its S1000RR at the upcoming Snetterton test alongside regular rider Alastair Seeley. Dixon will ride the spare machine Seeley contested the North West 200 on, albeit after modifications to bring it up to spec.

"I'm super excited to get a chance to move up to the Superbike class with such a competitive team. After my split with the Tsingtao Hampshire MV Agusta team, Lee and I spoke and having then gone to the team's base to meet up with him and some of the team, we came to this agreement."

"An opportunity like this doesn't come around every day but we'll do the test at Snetterton to see how I get on with the team and the bike and then we'll go from there to see if Lee wants me to ride for the rest of the season. I'm so impressed with the professionalism of the whole team in the way they do things and I can't wait to ride the BMW at Snetterton."

As it stands, no deal is in place for Dixon to join the RAF Reserves-backed outfit - which has only ever run one bike in BSB previously -, but team owner Lee Hardy is keen to see how he indeed fares.

"Jake approached me after leaving the Tsingtao team and after having a meeting to discuss the possibility of joining forces we agreed to run him at the Snetterton test. I had a second Superbike sat there doing nothing so it made sense, Jake will ride the bike in the Briggs Equipment colours however it will be run out of the same garage as Alastair,

"This is a great opportunity for Jake to experience riding a Superbike in a non-pressure situation; we are using the test to see how he works as a rider and understand him more. There's no pressure to perform from me as a team manager and it's a good opportunity for all concerned to join forces away from a BSB weekend."